Article 230. In their transmissions, licensed broadcast channels shall use the national language. The foregoing is without prejudice to the use of the corresponding language of indigenous peoples in additional licenses for indigenous social use. […]

In a unanimous vote, the Supreme Court justices invalidated this part of the law, ruling, on the one hand, that the law does not recognize the enormous diversity of national languages that are spoken in Mexico, and, on the other hand, that it limits the use of native languages for indigenous and community broadcasters and therefore infringes on indigenous communities’ freedom of expression.

Thereby, the decision of the First Chamber of the Supreme Court recognizes the right of indigenous peoples to access commercial licenses effectively and to broadcast their invaluable cultural identity, without their languages posing any obstacle.

The judgement was the result of a lawsuit filed by the renowned indigenous writer, poet, and journalist, Mardonio Carballo, who initiated the legal battle against the law in 2014.

In his December 2015 newspaper column in La Jornada, Carballo shared some of his motives for taking a stand against the article's contents:

[…] the writer of these words—a strong proponent of the usage of indigenous languages in mass media channels—went on alert, and filed a lawsuit against this article to seek protection of the individual right—as an indigenous writer, poet and journalist, and speaker of the Náhuatl language—to be able to express oneself in one's own language through any broadcast means, as well as protection of the collective right of indigenous peoples and communities to express themselves on the Mexican airwaves, and not solely through those licensed for indigenous social use.

[…] A country that, little by little, is gaining visibility in its multiculturalism and pluralism should open wider, not close off. It should encourage greater visibility of the many faces that are hiding themselves less, or that are increasingly harder to hide.

For this [pluralism] to happen we have to demand it together. We need all of you, we need all of us. Mexico needs us, including our native peoples and languages to be represented in all Mexican media outlets. It is an irrevocable right. All are invited. Artists Against Linguistic Discrimination, the title of this release, is a collective that aims to add on. Be on the lookout.

The following video from the collective highlights the group's central objective:

Nunca más un México sin nosotros en los medios de comunicación.

Never again a Mexico without us in its media.

With this month's court ruling, it seems the movement's time and efforts against linguistic discrimination have finally borne fruit. Undoubtedly, the Supreme Court's decision represents a breakthrough for the human rights of indigenous peoples and communities in Mexico—specifically their rights to freedom of expression, freedom to participate in cultural life, and freedom from discrimination.

On Twitter, Carballo put his poetry to use and celebrated the watershed moment in Mexican media:

RTplis [Retweet please]: We win 5-0. Ruling of @SCJN [the National Supreme Court of Justice] grants us protection vs Article 230 of the #LeyTelecom [#Telecommunications Act] we set a precedent #todaslaslenguasentodoslosmedios [#all languages in all media]

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[…] efforts to preserve indigenous languages, such as a resolution of Mexico's judiciary which recognized the right of the indigenous peoples in the country to transmit their “invaluable cultural identity, but […]

[…] efforts to preserve indigenous languages, such as a resolution of Mexico's judiciary which recognized the right of the indigenous peoples in the country to transmit their “invaluable cultural identity, but […]